journal

For those who look at my website for information, Thank you! I am keeping it updated. I have so much on the go, it can be a challenge to keep up. As each one of us feels in this day and age, there is more to do than the time alloted. For me, more music, more time with my aging mother enjoying old music together, and organizing home office and living spaces are some of the themes for me to play with this year. I am composing more. I am enjoying learning ukulele teaching and playing skills. And I look forward to more vocal improvisation work throughout this year!

To all who are in my life right now, I thank you for gifts of all kinds and hope we will connect throughout the year.

Christine

2017 New horizons

New beginnings and inspirations abound in spring. I am hopeful for the future, despite our problems and global issues. If we move ahead from love and community spirit and people before profit, we can do anything. Simply acting rather than waiting for governments or the powerful to provide or lead solutions is really key here.

Diane Kroeger’s movie “The Wisdom of the Forest” puts out a call to do just this: Plant a tree every year. If every person on the planet did this, she believes we would reverse global warming. If you live in the same city I do, Ecology Ottawa is embarking on their largest tree giveaway in Ottawa’s history! In celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary, you can receive trees free of charge in exchange for your loving care in planting and nurturing the seedlings on private and public property. It reminds me of an inspiring thing I noticed in the past few years on the property of my son’s school. Local neighbours have put a few trees in the ground on the vast green space property surrounding the school. They can be seen walking buckets of water to the saplings in spring and summer (we had two very dry years in a row). This is a quiet activity. No one seems to be looking for acknowledgement for it. If we can all act in this way, we can do anything!

Please join me in thinking about how the network of minds and bodies working for our collective values can change everything in 2017!

Welcoming in the new year! Hoping for more music and movement in these coming months by branching out with public classes in Ottawa at Surround Circle Yoga! Perhaps a show or fundraiser concert for a good cause such as my kid’s school yard upgrades! Many ideas. Hope everyone makes their dreams and desires reality this year as well! Come back to check for updates as well.

December 28th, 2008
Well it has been quite a year, opening with the birth of my son and closing with the death of my father. I will be writing this year starting January in Mexico and hope to perform more and more as Félix grows. Join me Sunday Jan 4th 4 pm at the Blacksheep Inn for a Songwriter’s round: Megan Brown and Jerry Leger will join me. www.theblacksheepinn.com for tickets.

October 28, 2008

there is presently no activity at the robertson road site. there is no mining company nor protestors! we are watching for any return. peace out for now, and keep asking politicians for what you want what you really really want.

ok so long since i wrote about the protest in my neck of the woods. ccamu.ca went up and many bloggers started up who i felt were more skilled than i so i stopped. for a brief update: there is no longer a physical protest at the frontenac ventures site near robertsville road because charges of contempt of court have effectively gagged the ardoch and shabot protesters. when someone is jailed (see robert lovelace in print media throughout the internet and the facebook group ‘free bob lovelace’) for six months, fined $25,000 plus $2000 per day he will not purge his contempt (ie. say he’ll no longer fight frontenac ventures with illegal protest), the corporation wins that fight. the community still has a large component of folks who will fight this any way we can. please visit the ccamu.ca site and inform yourself. the premier of ontario needs to hear from as many folks as possible. this is not a native issue; it involves many peoples’ rights being trampled by a corporation. the fact is it could happen anywhere in ontario and we need to tell the premier that we do not want ontario to be a mined wasteland for our children. protest takes many forms:

PREMIER MCGUINTY WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU:

It was suggested at the rally in Napanee on Saturday, that there is an action we can do each and every day that will create pressure on the Premier to act.

“Have you revoked Ontario’s Mining Act yet?”
“Have you announced a moratorium on mining uranium in eastern Ontario yet?”
“Have negotiations started yet?”

HEY check out the ccamu.ca website and read about donna dillman’s hunger strike at the legislature in toronto ontario. send the premier of ontario a letter, write donna to show support and/or donate and become a member of ccamu to continue this fight against the exploration of 30 000 acres of our beautiful land for the uranium canada ( and the world ) doesn’t need that simply feeds the greed of Frontenac Ventures Corporation.

hey donna

been following the 56 days with interest and sometimes a quesy feeling in my stomach. i think that’s the point of the hunger strike-striking a chord that may not be pleasing to listen to but gets attention. you are getting that now especially since the move to t.o. so thanks!!

i am glad so many politicians are becoming aware of the north frontenac issue. the media you are attracting will help the cause too and hopefully wake up a few more citizens of the earth with each article. the fight is strong, thanks to so many peoples’s incredible dedication. it’s a bigger community that will benefit in the end as we eventually win this struggle.

i think of you often and pray for your well being. i also pray you are coming home soon. christine

I have been too busy with other life issues to be at the uranium protest site much. There is a benefit concert i’ll perform in monday sept 10 at the green door restaurant in ottawa so come on out to that. performers include jennifer noxon and phil lafreniere plus dinner, talks and info, and a silent auction. starts at 6 pm. $50 admission-all funds to the cause.

i wanted to start blogging about the protest site because it is a scene to behold. there are so many non-natives in this fight and the media has barely got the picture that it is not just a native protest…..it is a citizen protest. the ardoch nation just happens to realize that this kind of action (a protest) is all that will work to stop a mine as an eventuality. we settlers don’t usually stop our lives for a fight of this kind but this time there are many who have. i’ll post photos soon but for now here’s a little day in the life of one ’settler’ who has made room in her days to help out:

Tues Sept 4/07…”Another amazing sky this morning….started the day at the
camp around 7 am - hilarious trying to cook pancakes for lots of people with
a dying generator. We make breakfast and lunch while we’re there. . I suppose we could be arrested for
being inside, but what’s the punishment for making breakfast?

On a local but important level, Lanark County council which represents a
good part of the watershed involved has passed a unanimous resolution
calling for a moratorium on uranium mining and in support of First Nations
land negotiations.

Many, many people are coming on side. For anyone who wishes to do
something, here is Dalton McGuinty’s office telephone number - you can speak
to a real person in the premier’s office and she will record your
information…..the number’s 416-325-1941. There is a “million messages to
Mcguinty” campaign….phone email or write…ask Dalton to honour his
committment to First Nations and our environment.”

Thurs Sept 6 “Are you awake to see this red morning sky? - let’s hope it
bodes well for the day to come. I’m going out to the “camp” now to help
with the breakfast. It was pretty quiet yesterday, people out front around
the fire and comings and goings of food and wood and water, in peaceful
defiance of the court order. Last Friday’s injunction event and William
Commanda’s presence at the PowWow, visits from ’Peacemaker’ and African
peacemakers all highlight last week. Check out Rick Salutin’s column on
Rabble.ca for a good take on commitment. Will keep in touch.”Please write Dalton McGuinty if you live in Ontario.

I have been starting to inform myself in a new and important issue facing residents in my area of Frontenac and Lanark Counties, Eastern Ontario and the people of Ontario. There is exploration staked on private and Native Lands for up to 30,000 acres of exploration for mining uranium. This is a potential distaster in an area based in fishing and outdoor tourism that also happens to be pretty densely populated year round. The watersheds potentially affected are the Mississippi River flowing to Carleton Place and The Ottawa River. The beautiful landscape and clean air will irrevocably be altered. There is a human mine block at the mine site at the present time by Ardoch First Nations and supported by many non-natives. Ongoing public education and protests to spread awareness of the issue is being organized by dedicated people. Uranium has a half life of 4.5 billion years so we want to put effort in at this end of the time-line!

Sarah Harmer and other great musicians are giving a concert July 25th as a fundraiser and donations and food for the protest site are being accepted at Foodsmith’s and other local businesses. Check back here as I post more information.

Write a letter to Premier McQuinty saying you support a moratorium on mining uranium in Ontario-especially in areas populated by humans but hey, animals are affected too. There are such moratoriums in BC and Nova Scotia. Write your MP and MPP stating it is time for a complete overhaul of the Mining Act of Ontario which alows prospecting, claim staking and exploration without landowner consent. Visit www.miningwatch.ca

We had a great show at the National Art’s Centre Fourth stage the 3rd of March. There were paintings and pottery by all my friends in this Lanark County art collective. The city outing was a good time with some pub action and wandering around Confederation Square. I carried my skates around but didn’t get onto the canal unfortunately.

Musically, a delightful show with Fred Guignion on guitars and stellar Tanzanian singers Stella Haybukhai and Neema Mugala. The stage backdrop had a giant painting of Lake Louise and I will post some pictures soon. And I’ll get to stream some audio as there were gems that night like “some old things”…

at long last….my website is easy to find! to many it may not seem a big deal to have a domain name. living in the country on dial-up (so much for universal internet accessibility) has been a part of my lack of web presence. i am someone who prefers face-to-face contact in the moment so the integration of internet community into my life is slow. i have conciously followed a somewhat neo-luddite philosophy much of my life (i dry clothes on a line). these are a few of my excuses for not joining the 21st century wholeheartedly.

my favourite excuse though has been this one. i had such a grotesque computer teacher in grade ten (frequently taking advantage of his position of power, he used every opportunity to lecture our class on how great the corporation of mcdonald’s was). i was eternally turned off of computers. wonder how he views the smash hit movie ’supersize me’ and the first quarterly loss ever by the corp in 2005?

as i navigate a little more of the sometimes beautiful internet highway, i’m glad to see much of its power resides in the hands of the people. let’s keep it that way.

the new site’s beautiful to look at! and i’m keeping it simple for any folks who match my profile above. thanks so much to brett who is leading me through cyberspace this time. thanks too to james trickey for original web design and hosting since 1996 and petr maur who designed the last site after ’stray’ was released in 2001.